To Steal Your Chocolate Heart
by Misura
Summary: Rune observes the strangeness of human courtship. [ThatzKitchel]


To steal your chocolate heart

x

Warnings/notes: Thatz/Kitchel (kind of), slightly weird, shortie, ooc?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. All links between regions and types of food are fully made up as are the name of the special kind of chocolates. The 'Festival of Blossoming Love' is made up.

written at 12th march 2005, by Misura.

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It was commonly known that Thatz liked food. All kinds of food, really, ranging from the stews and salads one could find in any tavern of Draqueen for a fairly cheap price, to the great variety of fish and seafood that came from Zulebiggia and other coastal parts of Dragoon and was only served in exclusive, expensive restaurants, and from the salty snacks that were produced up north, brought to taste with herbs of which the names were as carefully guarded as Alfeegi's budget-plans, to the candy and sweets for which the South-Eastern region was so well known.

There existed, as far as Rune was aware, only one type of food that Thatz -didn't- like. He had no idea of the reason for this, and he had to admit that they seemed to be of no great importance to find out either, but if one wanted to be able to enjoy one's chocolates in peace, without Thatz popping up out of nowhere to snatch 'a couple' of them for his own, one had to buy -

"White-chocolate truffles with peach-and-cherry filling, please. A big box," Thatz told the young woman behind the counter of Rune's favorite chocolaterie in Draqueen, which also happened to be the most expensive one.

Rune blinked, making sure nobody was looking in his direction before pinching himself to make sure that he was not dreaming this ... rather unlikely scene.

"Hey, Rune, are you okay?" Thatz seemed to cross the distance between the counter and Rune's place in the line -which had appeared to be depressingly wide not too long ago- in the fraction of a second.

"I'm fine." Rune managed a smile, bravely hiding his chagrin at not having noticed Thatz sooner, so that he might have spared himself another quarter of an hour's worth waiting for his turn by asking Thatz to get -his- sweets as well. He'd repeatedly told himself that patience was a virtue, but to -know- that what he was doing was virtuous didn't make the experience any more enjoyable, especially not when he could smell and practically taste the chocolate.

Thatz studied him for a moment, his gaze dwelling in particular on the spot on Rune's arm that was still red. Then, apparently deciding it was none of his business if Rune wanted to go around pinching himself, he shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, as you know it's the Festival of Blossoming Love this week, so I am here on an errand for the Queen, who always gifts the Lord with a special type of chocolate." Rune smiled a bit ruefully, wishing that there'd been someone to whom -he- could give any sweets to eat together. Maybe next year though, or the year after that.

"Oh yeah, all the servants and other people must have been too busy to go." Thatz snorted. "I swear, Alfeegi almost -killed- me when I suggested that he calmed down a bit and took a break or something, because freaking out wasn't going to get those decorations in place any quicker."

Rune considered if he ought to be offended at the suggestion that he was less useful than most other inhabitants of the Palace, but decided to let it slip.

"What are you going to do with those?" Rune gestured at the box in Thatz' hands.

"These?" Thatz stared at the box like he was seeing it for the first time, and didn't have a clue how it had ended up in his possession. "Oh, this is just a ... a gift. Yup. I always spend the night over at some friends of mine, you see, so I figured I'd bring a little something to say 'thanks'." Thatz smiled brightly.

Rune guessed that it made sense, kind of, to present your friends with something you didn't care for yourself, at least in Thatz' case. Not a lot, and not if you looked at it logically, but then again, this -was- Thatz.

"You won't be attending the festivities at the Palace this evening?" Rune inquired, slightly shocked. After all the trouble Ruwalk, Alfeegi and the Queen had gone through to organize them, it seemed almost a crime not to show up.

"Naw, I'm sure Alfeegi'll be happier not to see me for the next few days." Thatz made a face. Rune wondered if he really wanted to know any details about why that might be. "Besides, I already told you: it's a tradition to go out and party with a couple of friends of mine tonight. Traditions are important, right? That's what you're usually saying, at any rate."

"Well, yes, I suppose so." Rune looked doubtful.

"Okay. So, you go and have a good time at the Palace, and try to get Alfeegi and Tetheus to have some fun too, will you? They sure look like they need it." Thatz grinned. "I'd better go now; I still have to get some flowers."

"Flowers?" Rune asked the empty space where Thatz had been standing. "Why flowers?"

xxxxx

(the next day)

"Can you believe it?" Thatz fumed. "She didn't just steal the chocolates and the flowers -which had one of those heart-shaped card-thingies attached to them, too-, nooo, she also had to go and take my money -and- my spare set of clothes."

" 'She'?" Rune informed politely.

"Kitchel!" Thatz spat out the name like it was a curse. "Who else?"

"If you are so certain of her identity, might it not be possible to find her and ask her to return your belongings?" Rune suggested, with a slight frown.

Thatz shook his head. "She's long gone by now; there's no way I could catch up with her. She's not dumb, you know, sticking around after pulling a stunt like that."

Rune wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"And they even were her favorite kind of chocolates!" Thatz grumbled. "Gah! Women!"

OWARI


End file.
